Taiwan moved up three places from last year to eighth out of 64 major economies in the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking recently released by Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development.
The country finished third in the Asia-Pacific, ranking ahead of South Korea, 12th; China, 15th; Australia, 20th; New Zealand, 23rd; Malaysia, 27th; and Japan, 28th. The U.S. maintained its top position, followed by Hong Kong and Sweden, in that order.
Among the three major ranking factors of Knowledge, Technology and Future Readiness, Taiwan rose two spots to 16th in the former, as it moved up one place to first in total R&D personnel per capita and maintained third in higher education achievement.
In Technology, Taiwan advanced three spots to second overall and topped the world in mobile broadband subscribers as well as IT and media stock market capitalization.
The country advanced one place to seventh in Future Readiness, with the report citing Taiwan’s strengths in the agility of companies, in which Taiwan ranked third; use of big data and analytics, in which Taiwan ranked fourth; and smartphone possession, in which Taiwan ranked third.
According to the National Development Council, Taiwan’s ascent in the ranking spotlights the government’s success in promoting tertiary education and cultivating R&D talent while also highlighting areas for further improvement. The government will continue to strengthen Taiwan’s digital operational capacity to enhance the country’s global competitiveness, it added.
First launched in 2017, the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking measures the capacity and readiness of economies across 52 criteria to adopt and explore digital technologies as a key driver for economic transformation in business, government and wider society. (DL-E)
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